gettyvilla

Getty Villa

We will remain closed to the public through Thanksgiving Day and will reopen on Friday, November 23. Book tickets below.

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We are happy to announce that the Getty Villa will re-open its doors to the public this Friday, November 23. Those that wish to visit can book their tickets via the #linkinbio —we look forward to welcoming you to the #GettyVilla ! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
*Visitors with parking reservations on the dates the Villa was closed have been provided information about rescheduling.

2 days ago12975

Update: The Getty Villa will remain closed to the public until further notice and we are planning for it to be closed at least through Thanksgiving Day. We will follow direction from emergency agencies as to the appropriate time to reopen.
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Based on information we have about the weather conditions and status updates from fire agencies, the Getty Villa and Getty Center both remain safe and not threatened; our art and archives are secure. The Getty Center remains open and operating under its normal hours.

This bronze military diploma was issued #onthisday November 7, nearly two thousand years ago (88 AD).
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This document would have been prized by its owner, “Dassio son of Dasens,” a Roman auxiliary soldier in Syria, since it granted him full Roman citizenship and retirement after twenty-five years of military service. Officially notarized, copied, and sealed, such diplomas were valuable to veterans far beyond their weight in bronze.
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The date is recorded as, “A · D · VII · IDVS NOVEMBR” which translates to, “seven days before the Ides (14th) of November,” ie. November 7th. The year of 88 AD is based on the names of the ruling consuls. This diploma consists of two bronze plates that would have originally been fastened together. The names of the seven witnesses are listed on the back of the second plate.
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This object is on view at the Getty Villa in Gallery 209 with other objects related to the Roman military.
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Military Diploma, 88 AD, bronze, Roman, 73.AC.39.
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#getty#gettyvilla#onthisday#diploma#roman#citizenship#antiquity#arthistory#veterans#militaryservice

14 days ago15969

On a day when our nation celebrates civic duty and engagement, we look at one of the earliest depictions of voting in ancient Greece through a detail in a Greek wine cup. Voters deposited a pebble into one of two urns to mark their choice; after voting, the urns were emptied onto counting boards for tabulation. The principle of secret voting was established by at least the 5th century B.C., and Athenians may have used a contraption to obscure the urn into which a voter was placing his hand. The modern word, ballot, preserves this ancient history of bean-counting: it comes from medieval French ballotte, a small ball. So don’t forget to put into practice one of the principles of democracy and exercise your right to vote — cast your ballot today!
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Voting with “psephoi” (pebbles) in a scene from the Wine Cup with the Suicide of Ajax (detail), about 490 B.C., attributed to the Brygos Painter. Red-figured kylix made in Athens. Terracotta. The Getty Villa, Gallery 103, 86.AE.286.
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#getty#gettyvilla#antiquity#arthistory#art#politics#demos#democracy#greece#antiquity#govote#electionday

Since it’s No Shave November, we are showcasing some of our objects that feature facial hair! In Classical Greece, showing a famous figure with a beard could give one’s image seniority and authority. However, sculpting extra hair was no easy task. One of the most famous sculptors from ancient Greece, Praxiteles, apparently did not like creating works showing older figures because he thought sculpting clean-shaven characters was easier. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This portrait has been dated to the first century A.D. and is likely a copy of a Greek sculpture from four centuries earlier. His beard marks him out as a philosopher, probably made to be displayed in a Roman home or garden similar to the Villa of the Papyri upon which the Getty Villa is based. Collecting sculptures based on earlier Greek prototypes was a popular pastime for Romans who sought to show off their wealth and education to those that visited them at home. Get some beard inspiration and visit “Herm bust of a Greek Philosopher” in our Upper Peristyle, gallery 201 B.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Herm bust of a Greek Philosopher, second half of the 1st century A.D., Marble. 73.AA.44⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#getty#gettyvilla#antiquities#greek#philosopher#beards#beardsofinstagram#noshavenovember#movember

This “Pomegranate vase” is a clay replica of the fruit, decorated with the geometric patterns that were standard in the eighth century. Its stem is pierced, which suggests that it was once intended for suspension. Many examples have been found in tombs, and most likely served as an everlasting stand-in for the fruit itself. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The pomegranate’s association with Hades and Persephone lent it deep funerary significance, and its red juice might have easily evoked the bloodshed of sacrifice. At the same time, the countless seeds offer the prospect of growth and rebirth—or perhaps more poignantly, when associated with someone who has died young, fertility thwarted.
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Pomegranate vase, 725–700 B.C. Terracotta, 2001.17⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#getty#gettyvilla#antiquity#clay#fruits#realmofthedead#mythology#patterns#traditions#funerary#decor#geometry

The depths of the earth have opened and all mortals are invited to visit the Underworld at the Getty Villa on Hallowe’en! In this series, and in our newly-opened Underworld exhibition, we are exploring some of the eternal punishments that haunted the mortals of ancient Greece. Rivalling Sisyphus’s fate for soul-crushing futility (as seen in our last post), the two women at the left of this grave relief fragment pour water into a huge jar. The pot is leaky, and so their task will never be complete. Roman authors indicate that this was the punishment inflicted upon the Danaids for murdering their husbands (who were also their cousins). Earlier Greek sources associated this thankless endeavor more generally with those who had not participated in special initiation rituals.
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Fragment of a Funerary Relief with Underworld Figures, Greek, made in South Italy (Taras), 325-300 BC, limestone, State Collections of Antiquities and Glyptothek Munich, GL 494. Photograph by Renate Kűhling
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#getty#gettyvilla#underworld#mythology#mortal#ancienthistory#gods#greek#afterlife#endoftheearth#worldofthedead#halloween

“Underworld: Imagining the Afterlife” opens tomorrow at the Getty Villa! In spirit of Hallowe’en, we are exploring some of the punishments that haunted the mortals of ancient Greece. On this sixth-century B.C. storage, Sisyphus rolls his rock up a hill in the Underworld. Though he approaches the top, the rock will roll back down again and again and again. Many of the punishments in the Greek Underworld weren’t so much horrifying as horrendously tedious. Sisyphus’ fate is perhaps the best known, and the motif continues to be used today in newspaper cartoons and internet memes. Sisyphus’s crime? Trying to elude death.
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Interested in more dark tales of the Underworld? Join us tomorrow at 9:30 am on our facebook page as we explore the depths of the world of the dead in a live broadcast with antiquities curator, David Saunders. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Storage Jar with Sisyphus and the Uninitiated, Greek, made in Athens, about 525 BC; found in Vulci, Italy, terracotta. Black-figure neck amphora attributed to the Bucci Painter. State Collections of Antiquities and Glyptothek Munich, SH 1493 WAF. Photograph by Renate Kűhling
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#getty#gettyvilla#underworld#mythology#mortal#punishment#ancienthistory#gods#greek#afterlife#endoftheearth#worldofthedead#halloween